Uma Ramanathan

Uma Ramanathan, Advocate, Mediator, and Mediator Trainer. She is also the Organising Secretary of the Tamilnadu Mediation and Conciliation Centre, High Court, Madras. She practiced as an advocate in the High Court Madras, Tamilnadu, India for 29 years. She has been practicing as a Mediator since 2005 and training mediators all over India since 2006. She is also a member of the Panel constituted to draft the Mediation Manual brought out by the Mediation and Conciliation Project Committee, Supreme Court of India.

Articles and Video:

Ideas, Ideologies, and Inferences(01/12/18)
Differences arise due to contrasting goals and demands and due to inability to perceive and acknowledge the stand of the other person.

Thought Synergy Trajectory in Conflict Management(03/10/17)
"Between the Fact and Non-Fact is the Conflict," this statement is so blatantly simple that one wonders why we have not been able to dwell on this and recognize that this pulsating split second wonder can have appalling or astounding consequences.

Advocacy in Mediation(05/21/15)
Advocacy is recommendation of a cause. Advocacy presupposes a difference of opinion or a conflict and the need to clarify the ‘knot’, get to understand the root cause and then acknowledge consequences. Mediation advocacy pre-supposes support by the mediator for resolution and projection of a cause by the counsel/ party.

Torch Bearers in Mediation(04/24/15)
Goals, predictions, vision statement. Frame it in any manner, what stakeholders are looking for is the fulfilment of the promise of mediation.

Respect(03/28/14)
A mediator often has to deal with High Conflict people and their defensiveness, and, in the attempt to defuse the situation, the mediation often gets emotionally drawn into the conflict resolution by taking the responsibility of the outcome to be his goal. This article reminds mediators of their true purpose.

Solutions and Future Plans of Mediation as an ADR Method(12/27/13)
Mediation in our country is no more a toddler. It has started to have an identity and it is time that we devise a cohesive plan for the growth of mediation in a manner that would allow cohesion among the stakeholders in the process. Changing the mind set of all concerned is now essential to take stock of where mediation is heading and what is to be done.

Initiatives and Innovations for Effective, Court-Mandated Mediation(02/01/13)
Mediation attempts to use persuasion as the main tool for resolution. It is said that a Professor of Medicine taught his students to touch the patient while listening to them instead of standing by the bed. By standing near the bed, he felt that the patient would get the impression that the doctor wanted to move away, but by touching the patient, the doctor revealed special concern. Persuasive listening is said to be concerned listening as opposed to mere listening.

Need for Enhancement of Standards in Mediation Practice(12/08/12)
This article is a summary of the keynote speech presented at India's National Conference on Mediation. It provides a synopsis of the current state of mediation in India, as well as a statement of the future of mediation.